Wedge.



W. WALTERS.

WEDGE. v

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 11, 1911.

1,032,8 1 Patented July 9, 1912.

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T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM WVALTERS, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Glendale, in the county of Island and State of lVashington, have invented a new and Improved lVedge, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to certain improvements in combined wooden and iron wedges, more particularly adapted for use by lumbermen in felling and splitting timber, and an object of my invention is to provide a new form of wedge so constructed and reinforced that the wear and tear is taken off the metallic parts and the stresses and strains incidental to an article of this character, are evenly and proportionally distributed over the whole device.

A further object of my invention is to provide a wedge of a simple, inexpensive and durable construction, the wearable parts of which can readily be replaced.

A further object of my invention is to so dispose the metal that the greatest amount will be at the point where the greatest strain takes place.

With the above and other objects in View, as will more fully hereinafterappear, the present invention consists in certain novel details of construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures, and in which- Figure l is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of my novel wedge; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same, the ring and point being shown in a sectional view; Fig. 3 is a side elevation of my steel point, and Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the wooden core.

My improved wedge comprises three separate parts; a hard wood core A, a cap ring B, and a hard steel point C. The core A is cylindrical and is formed of any preferred hard wood, and has its lower edge beveled to form an elongated wedge 1. Centrally of the cylindrical part 2, the core has an enlarged portion 3, forming with the cylindrlcal part, an upper shoulder 4 and a lower Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 11, 1911.

Patented July 9, 1912.

Serial No. 601,937.

inclined beveled edge 5. Resting upon the shoulder t is shrunk or otherwise secured, the iron ring of band B, serving to pre vent said shoulder from splitting under the impact of a blow. This ring or band is beveled inwardly from each of the ends, as shown at 6, so that as the top of the cylindrical part or head 2 expands under the force of the sledge, the wood of the head or cylindrical part 2 will expand into these beveled portions 6, firmly locking the ring cap in place and affording an excellent percussion surface for the wedge.

Positioned below the enlarged portion of the core A, is the point C, the upper end of which forms a cylindrical socket 7 engaging the lower cylindrical part of the core 2 and having opposite side portions 8 fitting closely against and conforming to the angle of the wedge 1 of the core A. The cutting end of the point C is flared outward into a fan shape 9, and is thicker at its center than where the sides 8 come together to meet the edge portion 10. This edge portion 10 is recessed as shown at 11, adjacent the socket 7, to permit the wooden core A to expand under the force of the impacting blows into these recesses 11, thereby firmly locking the point to the core. At the same time, the socket 7 will tend to ride up on the beveled portion 5, tending to additionally hold the parts together. The lower end of each of the sides 8 has a longitudinally-extending groove 12, extending from the center of the lower curved edge 13 upwardly about half the length of the point C, for the purpose of holding the wedge firmly in contact with the object which is being split.

Many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof. It is intended that all matters contained herein in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. It is also to be understood that the language used in the following claims is merely intended to cover all the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention, which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween, and that materials, sizes and relativities of parts are non-essential, except as called for in the claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. In a wedge, a wooden core having a beveled end and a point protecting said beveled end, said point formed of two flat sides meeting to form a curved fan-shaped cutting edge thicker at its center than Where the sides meet, and a groove extending longitudinally from the center of said edge whereby said wedge is'firmly held in the body into which it is being driven.

2. A wedge, comprising a wooden core of a general cylindrical construction having a head at one end, said core adjacent said head reduced to form a shoulder, and a cylindrical ring resting on said shoulder and in contact with and encircling said reduced portlon, each end of said ring being internally beveled, so as to increase the diameter of the bore at each end, whereby impact on the head of said core in driving said wedge into the object which is being split, will cause said core within said ring, to spread into the beveled portions of the same, to firmly hold the ring in place and to prevent the core from splitting.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WVILLIAM XVALTERS.

Witnesses:

XVILLIAM H. PETERSON, JOHN SULLIVAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Iatents. Washington, I). G. 

